1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The invention relates to the field of digitization equipment for military platforms and more particularly to a method and apparatus for an embedded digitization system that reduces or eliminates the multiplicity of physical elements within the digitization equipment.
2. Background Art
Relevant activities in the field are being carried out by the United States Army and its contractors in an effort to xe2x80x9cdigitize the Army,xe2x80x9d which is an effort to integrate digital message communications with existing and new Army platforms. Digital message communications occur within a theatre of operation over wire and wireless local area networks joined through wireless wide area networking, creating a xe2x80x9ctactical Internet.xe2x80x9d The concept of military platforms interacting through digital message communications within a tactical internet, which spans a theatre of operation, is referred to as the xe2x80x9cdigital battlefield.xe2x80x9d The problems with the existing systems are functional problems encountered, whether mechanical, electrical, thermal, labor required, performance sought, etc. In addition, each platform usually has its own separate mission processors, time and position location/navigation processors, modem processors, and radio communications devices, making these elements redundant. The use of the prior art redundancy of elements increases the cost and weight of the system and decreases the reliability of the entire system.
The state of the art includes the integration of multiple pieces of equipment, referred to as xe2x80x9cdigitization equipment,xe2x80x9d onto a military platform to provide the platform with the capabilities required to communicate digital messages on a tactical internet. A military platform with digitization equipment is referred to as a xe2x80x9cdigitized platform.xe2x80x9d Each piece of digitization equipment on the digitized platform provides a unique portion of the required digital communications capabilities. However, each piece of digitization equipment typically includes similar physical elements like processing resources, memory resources, power supplies, communications devices, enclosures and physical interfaces. Thus digitization equipment include a multiplicity of similar physical elements. The disadvantage of the present system is that the cost and weight of digitization equipment is larger than necessary due to multiplicity of physical elements within the digitization equipment.
The present invention solves the problems of the prior art systems by embedding and integrating the capabilities required for digital message communications and mission processing into a system with singular instances of processing resources, memory resources, power supplies, communications devices, enclosures and physical interfaces.
The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior platform digitization equipment is an example of one of these prior art systems. Digitization equipment for this platform include a multiplicity of similar physical elements within its mission processors, time and position location/navigation processor, modem processor, and radio communications devices.
A related technology is embodied in U.S. Pat. No. 5,883,586 Embedded Mission Avionics Data Link System. Whereas the referenced patent describes the embedding of digitization equipment into a platform with multiplicity of similar physical elements, the present invention describes embedding of digitization equipment into singular instances of physical elements.
Disclosed herein is an embedded digitization system with a single source for communicating within a platform and with other platforms, thereby eliminating the multiplicity of physical elements in the various devices. The preferred embedded digitization apparatus for integrating digital message communications with at least one platform comprises a single source for sending and receiving digital messages comprising exchanging information between predetermined platform applications. The preferred single source comprises a processor module. The single source can further comprise a configurable radio module, a time and position module, mass memory module and an input/output module. The preferred predetermined applications comprise at least one mission application, a time, position and navigation application, a digital messaging application, at least one weapon application and a user interface application.
In another embodiment, disclosed is a single embedded digitization apparatus for integrating digital message communications with at least one platform comprising a processor module, a time and position module, and a configurable radio module. The preferred time and position module comprises an inertial navigation sensor module and can also comprise a global positioning system (GPS) receiver. The preferred inertial navigation sensor module comprises an apparatus for detecting an angular position and rate of change of the angular position about its three Cartesian axes and detecting acceleration along its Cartesian axes. The aforementioned modules can comprise a single module. The preferred apparatus can further comprise an input/output module. The input and output module can comprise a general purpose interface module comprising at least one output interface for a display, at least one input interface for a point and click apparatus and interfaces for predetermined associated equipment. The associated equipment comprises radios, antennae, weapons delivery systems, at least one user output, at least one user input and at least one sensor. The configurable radio transmission module comprises software controlled communication protocols. The software controlled communication protocols comprise physical layer protocols, data link layer protocols, network layer protocols, transport layer protocols, modulation protocols, waveform protocols, transmission security protocols and communication security protocols.
Also disclosed is an apparatus for sending and receiving digital messages between military platforms comprising a single processing resource, a single memory resource, a single power supply and a single communication resource.
The preferred method for communication digital information from a single source in at least one platform comprises the steps of communicating with a predetermined application and exchanging specific digital information from the communication between a digital messaging application and at least one specific application. The step of exchanging comprises transmitting the specific digital information. The step of exchanging also comprises extracting the specific digital information from the at least one specific application and creating a specific digital message and transmitting the specific digital message. The step of exchanging comprises receiving the specific digital information. The step of exchanging also comprises extracting the specific digital information from at least one digital message. The preferred method further comprises the step of providing the extracted digital information to the at least one specific application. The digital message can also comprise an external source.
The primary objects of the present invention are to enable a military platform to receive, transmit and process a variety of types of information for a variety of purposes. This information is exchanged between digitized platforms and other systems over a tactical internet.
The primary advantages of the present invention are that cost and weight of digitization equipment for digitized platforms are reduced while the reliability of digitization equipment is increased. These advantages are realized because as few as one piece of equipment can provide all digitization equipment capabilities for a digitized platform.
Other objects, advantages and novel features, and further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description to follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.